I personally thought the narrative and heist-like elements were pretty compelling, I suppose the story is a bit ludicrous, but no moreso then the majority of the lead actors other productions, Sly and Arnie play off one-another so well that one wishes they had teamed up sooner, Caviezel and Vinnie Jones both give suitably creepy performances, 50 Cent is dissapointingly underused though, as his character really dosen't factor into the plot very much. Surprisingly enough I was far from the only young person in the theater, there were several teenage girls a few seats down that seemed to enjoy the film as much as I did.

2. I think people will be more inclined to see Gravity, Tom Hanks and even Carrie this weekend than two senior citizens who have a fist-fight and try to escape from prison. If this were 1985, then this movie would easily be at the top of the box office.

3. I don’t think this movie will do much for Arnold and Sly’s careers. I mean The Last Stand and Bullet to the Head didn’t exactly light up the box office. I don’t think they can get much more mileage out of being action stars especially now at their ages.

4. The only way Arnold and Sly’s action careers can continue at all at their ages now is for them to be self-deprecating. If they try to do things seriously, they’ll only look even more ridiculous than they already are now. Stallone has that upcoming comedy “Grudge Match” with De Niro which you might as well unofficially call it Rocky 7. But of course self-deprecation can only get you so far and I think soon enough audiences would get tired of the joke.

5. This movie looks like it’s pretty much Grumpy Old Men meets The Great Escape.

Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:54 pm

patrick

Second Unit Director

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:57 pmPosts: 360

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

I'm awaiting their next team-up in a movie that doesn't start with the letter E!

....and no one better crack wise about how the original title of this movie was The Tomb.

Fri Oct 18, 2013 6:55 pm

MGamesCook

Director

Joined: Thu Oct 11, 2012 7:44 pmPosts: 1807

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

2.5 stars is higher than I expected. I'm still kinda stoked to give this one a try.

Fri Oct 18, 2013 7:02 pm

patrick

Second Unit Director

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 4:57 pmPosts: 360

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

Just got back from Escape Plan and it's been quite a year for Stallone and Schwarzenegger. We had Schwarzenegger with The Last Stand where he poked fun of his age and did old people things from time to time & with Stallone where he was still suffering the horrible delusion that it was the 80's and he could do young people things. So with them teaming up with their two wildly views of themselves, it was going to be interesting in which sensibility won out.

Turns out that it's irrelevant since it's really not that action-packed. Oh sure, there's fist fights and an explosion but they're low-key....until the last 20 minutes when Arnold gets a machine gun and then it gets all giddy-fun. But in that case, Stallone's delusions of youth wins out but it's not so bad since it doesn't happen that long.

But what is important is that Escape Plan is more of a heist/jail escape type movie. And it's a nice change of pace for the duo. Hell, Schwarzenegger grows a goatee for this, a decent one at that so you know it's serious! It is nice for the movie to take its time and how everything falls in place for the big climax.

Sure, it's a bit flabby and about 10 minutes too long but it's a nice movie. It's much better than Bullet in the Head and a little bit better than The Last Stand. Worth seeing.

Sat Oct 19, 2013 3:29 pm

ck100

Second Unit Director

Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:07 pmPosts: 210

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

Does anybody know which actor has been the oldest action hero in the movies? I know Charles Bronson was 72 when he did Death Wish 5.

I know some may say Clint Eastwood, but the last action film he did was, I believe, In the Line of Fire from 20 years ago and he was 63 back then. He was 58 when he stopped playing Dirty Harry in The Dead Pool in 1988.

Sat Oct 19, 2013 4:21 pm

Vexer

Auteur

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:02 pmPosts: 3606Location: Zion, IL

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

ck100 wrote:

Does anybody know which actor has been the oldest action hero in the movies? I know Charles Bronson was 72 when he did Death Wish 5.

I know some may say Clint Eastwood, but the last action film he did was, I believe, In the Line of Fire from 20 years ago and he was 63 back then. He was 58 when he stopped playing Dirty Harry in The Dead Pool in 1988.

It definitely was Bronson. Personally I liked Bullet In The Head for the fact that it didn't reference Stallone's age, it wasn't farfetched that he could kick that much ass based on the shape he was in.

Sat Oct 19, 2013 5:51 pm

oakenshield32

Cinematographer

Joined: Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:11 pmPosts: 542

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

Vexer wrote:

ck100 wrote:

Does anybody know which actor has been the oldest action hero in the movies? I know Charles Bronson was 72 when he did Death Wish 5.

I know some may say Clint Eastwood, but the last action film he did was, I believe, In the Line of Fire from 20 years ago and he was 63 back then. He was 58 when he stopped playing Dirty Harry in The Dead Pool in 1988.

It definitely was Bronson. Personally I liked Bullet In The Head for the fact that it didn't reference Stallone's age, it wasn't farfetched that he could kick that much ass based on the shape he was in.

Sean Connery was 72 in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and Burt Lancaster was 72 in Tough Guys. Christopher Lee doesn't really count here but he was 82 in Revenge of the Sith.

Sun Oct 20, 2013 3:21 am

KelsoH

Gaffer

Joined: Sun Dec 20, 2009 4:00 pmPosts: 22

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

I wanted to walk out of Escape Plan, and I didn't even pay to see this viewing.

As reflected by others, this action flick would have done well in the late 80's/90's, but it just doesn't work any more for today's audiences. The world has moved digital, and expectations for what is considered exciting have shifted. Nowadays people want Transformers/Gravity/Pacific Rim style action set pieces, not extended gun fights with high body counts of the same anonymous henchman.

I'm happy we don't see this kind of movie very often any more. Good riddance I say!

Sun Oct 20, 2013 5:05 am

Vexer

Auteur

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:02 pmPosts: 3606Location: Zion, IL

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

KelsoH wrote:

I wanted to walk out of Escape Plan, and I didn't even pay to see this viewing.

As reflected by others, this action flick would have done well in the late 80's/90's, but it just doesn't work any more for today's audiences. The world has moved digital, and expectations for what is considered exciting have shifted. Nowadays people want Transformers/Gravity/Pacific Rim style action set pieces, not extended gun fights with high body counts of the same anonymous henchman.

I'm happy we don't see this kind of movie very often any more. Good riddance I say!

Well I love that we're getting these kinds of films, i'd much rather have them over garbage films that use insane amounts of CGI like those damn Pirates films.

Sun Oct 20, 2013 12:54 pm

ck100

Second Unit Director

Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:07 pmPosts: 210

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

Escape Plan earned $9.8 million over the weekend box office and debuted at #5. I guess two old geezers are no match for Batman, Miss Congeniality, Forrest Gump and a blood-soaked Hit-Girl.

Sun Oct 20, 2013 2:32 pm

Vexer

Auteur

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:02 pmPosts: 3606Location: Zion, IL

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

ck100 wrote:

Escape Plan earned $9.8 million over the weekend box office and debuted at #5. I guess two old geezers are no match for Batman, Miss Congeniality, Forrest Gump and a blood-soaked Hit-Girl.

Though it did outperform Fifth Estate, which debuted at number 8 with a measly 1.7 million.

Sun Oct 20, 2013 2:38 pm

ck100

Second Unit Director

Joined: Mon Oct 08, 2012 8:07 pmPosts: 210

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

Escape Plan didn't do so well at the box office over the weekend. The Last Stand and Bullet To The Head flopped at the box office.

So what should Arnold and Sly do at this point to keep their careers going? How does an aging, past-his-prime action star keep their career afloat despite a lack of recent box office success and not lots of success with other genres? Can they do anything at all or should they retire now like they probably should have done years ago?

They're not getting any younger and it's unlikely they're going to be cast in any comedy or drama. We all know action films are where they most excelled.

We know Arnold has some zombie movie he's working on and allegedly another Terminator film. But given his recent lack of success at the box office, why should people have confidence in these films? Yes, you can have confidence in Terminator, but we all know T1 and T2 are the heart of the franchise and Arnold's age is a negative factor for the franchise at this point let alone any action film.

We know Stallone could do another Expendables film, but, like with Arnold, he's not getting younger and the whole franchise may feel played out at a certain point. I mean I don't think this is the kind of franchise that can last for 6 films like Rocky (which you have to wonder if we really needed 6 Rocky films). Stallone has his unofficial Rocky VII film "Grudge Match" coming up with De Niro, but the problems here are age and the lack of success Stallone has had outside of The Expendables. Besides, we all know what happened the last time Stallone tried his hand at comedy......

Sun Oct 20, 2013 8:05 pm

Vexer

Auteur

Joined: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:02 pmPosts: 3606Location: Zion, IL

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

Personally I hope they both keep doing what they're doing, I don't think they need to change anything as long as they're films are entertaining. Nevertheless I think T5 could potentially make some decent coin, Grudge Match might do OK business, but it faces a tough battle due to it being released the same week as Jack Ryan, I certainly don't think it will be nearly as big of a flop as Stallone's previous comedy efforts were. The last Expendables film was pretty succesful, so I have no doubt part 3 will also do well.

Sun Oct 20, 2013 9:51 pm

ilovemovies

Producer

Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 11:04 amPosts: 2258

Re: ESCAPE PLAN

Loved it. Had a blast. Stallone is solid, but the movie is definitely stolen by Schwarzenegger, who is awesome, and Jim Caviezel, who is obviously relishing in playing such a despicable character. It's great seeing him play the deliciously evil warden especially in contrast with playing such a stoic boy scout every week in the TV show Person of Interest. Caviezel is the kind of actor who usually underplays things so it's great to see him let loose a bit and go over the top and be on scenery chewing mode.

And some of the scenes where Stallone is behind the walls and walking through definitely reminded me of Prison Break. Not a bad thing since I freaking loved that show.

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